Golf putter

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this invention is to provide a golf putter with which players are capable of making accurate putts.  
     It is quite difficult to make precision putting strokes as far as the strokes are guided by the spot mark on the putter head. There have been proposals on various training tools and improved putters, but it is still not easy to learn the skill of accurate putting.  
     The inventor has developed a golf putter  20  provided with projected end portions  21  and  21′,  which are disposed at both ends of the putter head la in a one-piece construction and stick out in the forward direction for a certain distance at right angles to the putt face F. It has been confirmed that with the putter of this invention, any player can easily make accurate putting strokes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to a golf putter and more particularly toa golf putter from which accurate putting can be expected

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Golf putting is played on the green by setting up the putter headin the rear of the ball and hit the ball with the putter head to rollthe ball into the hole. As important points of a good putting stroke,the putter head should be initially placed at a position perpendicularto the target line along which the ball is putted. Then, the putter headshould be set so that the sweet spot (the center of balance) of theputter head is precisely aligned with the central position of the ball.Under this condition, the player should first take the putter headstraight back along the target line while keeping their eyes over theball and keeping head and shoulders still, and then take the putter headforward to putt the ball along the target line and roll the ball intothe hole. When a series of movements are conducted correctly andsmoothly, a precision putting stroke is completed, and the ball can bebrought toward the hole along the target line.

[0003] To execute this, the players must at first consider theundulations of the green surface, read the green for grain, and draw animaginary target line 3, such as shown in FIG. 4, so that the ball 2will roll along this line and into the hole when the ball 2 is puttedwith the putter 1. Then, the players need to make an accurate stroke toroll the ball toward the first target point. In practice, the lineconnecting the toes of both feet should be parallel to the imaginaryline 3. It is important to putt the ball 2 on the line 3 while the faceF of the putter head 1 a is kept square, i.e., at the positionperpendicular to the line 3. This can be done by giving the ball 2 animpact of putt at right angles from the sweet spot 1 b (which willdiffer in position, depending on the head structure) near the center ofthe putter face F.

[0004] In FIG. 4, S represents the shaft.

[0005] Various proposals have been made for the learning ofabove-described accurate putting strokes.

[0006] As an example, Official gazette of Japanese utility model laidopen No. 1987-155875 proposed a putter for use in golf training, such asshown in FIGS. 5a and 5 b. The head 5 of this putter comprises aV-shaped face F1 on one side, a convex face F2 on the other side, and abottom face 6 between the V slopes, with the bottom width being narrowerthan the diameter of the ball 2. The shaft S is fitted detachably to thehead 5.

[0007] This putter is aimed at giving the ball 2 always an automaticroll into the central portion even when the ball 2 cannot be putted withthe central portion of the head, but instead putted with one of theslopes 7, as shown in FIG. 5a. This putter is said to be quite effectivein making judgments as to whether the line connecting the toes of bothfeet is parallel to the expected target line, or whether the way to useboth hands is good, based on the difference between the actual ball lineand the previously expected target line.

[0008] The bottom face 6 (the central zone) of the V-shaped face Fl isgiven a narrower width than the diameter of the ball 2. If the ball 2 isputted with a slope 7 of the face Fl, the ball is given unnecessaryrotation. But by the time the ball reaches the bottom face 6, the ballloses its rotation because the opposite slope works to reduce therotation. This putter is thus advantageous in that the ball 2 rollsstraight forward whenever it is putted at any point of the face F1. Onthe other hand, the convex face F2 has a semi-circular surface in itscross-section, as shown in FIG. 5b. If this face is used for putting,the ball never rolls toward the hole unless the ball is seized at thecentral point (a) of the face. If the ball were seized at a point (b) or(c) on the surface, the ball would roll on in the direction of 2 a or 2b, which is quite different from the direction of the expected targetline. Since the putt from this face F2 makes it possible to judge theright position of putt, it is asserted that the putter of this type isvery effective for the experienced golfers to train themselves.

[0009] Official gazette of Japanese utility model laid open No.1995-3684 proposed a putt training tool of the disposable, ball-guidingtype, which can be fitted detachably to the putter head, as shown inFIG. 6. This tool can be fitted to the putter by utilizing the spot mark8, placing first a positioning aid onto the putt face of the putter sothat the guide plates 9 and 9′ can be positioned at right placesrelative to the spot mark 8, then setting the guide plates 9 and 9′ onboth sides of this positioning aid, adhering these plates to the puttface of the putter, and removing the positioning aid from the putt face.As a result, the putt face is provided with a ball-guiding putt zone 10having partition walls on both sides and having a width slightly widerthan the ball diameter.

[0010] If the ball is seized with the putter head at its centralposition, i.e., the position on the line extending from the spot mark 8,then the ball is led into the ball-guiding putt zone and is putted withthe head at its central position (or sweet spot).

[0011] In that case, the ball rolls on straight in the right directionintended by the player.

[0012] If, on the other hand, the ball is seized at a head positionother than the spot mark position, then the ball will come in touch withthe inside wall of a guide plate, or hit against the tip of a guideplate or against the end portion of the head. In that case, the ballwill roll obliquely or in other directions not intended by the player.Sometimes, such a play may be a cause of danger.

[0013] When players train themselves using a putter equipped with thistool, they learn the position of the sweet spot on the putter head ormaster the skill of putting through practices.

[0014] Official gazette of Japanese patent application laid open No.1996-126729 proposed a putt training guide plate, such as shown in FIGS.7 and 8. In FIG. 7, right- and left-side vertical faces 11 and 11′ areseparated from each other at a certain space by an open face 12 and areconnected by a connecting portion 13, which is bent backward and laid onthe top surface of the putter head and is provided with a centralprojection 14. The right- and left-side vertical faces 11 and 11′ areprovided with gateposts 15 and 15′, respectively, each having upper andlower projections. An adhesive is applied on the back surface of theguide plate 16 and is protected with release paper. At the time oftraining, this release paper is peeled off, and the guide plate isadhered to the putter face F.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 8a, the ball 2 is best putted at the centralposition P in the open face 12 of the guide plate 16, i.e., the positionright below the spot mark 8. When putting the ball 2 in practice, theplayer must maintain the putter at right angles to the direction inwhich the ball 2 rolls on.

[0016] Thus, when the ball is putted accurately at the central positionP of the putter 1, the ball goes straight in the direction perpendicularto the putt face and reaches the point A. This direction verifies thatthe player has made a fine putting stroke.

[0017] If, however, the ball is seized at a wrong position outside thecentral position P, and comes in contact with a gatepost 15 or 15′, thenthe ball will head for the point B or C. In that case, the playerinstantly becomes aware of an inaccurate putting stroke. If the playerfails to keep the putt angle of 90° to the intended ball direction, asshown in FIG. 8b, then the ball comes in contact with a gatepost in asimilar way. This also makes a wrong putting stroke known instantly tothe player. Therefore, it is asserted that the best putting practice ispossible with this guide plate.

[0018] Meanwhile, there have been other proposals with emphasis onadditional components, with which the putter head is provided, to guidethe ball along the line 3, without depending on the spot mark 8.

[0019] Official gazette of Japanese patent application laid open No.1984-194764 proposed a putter provided with a guide rod 17 in the rearof the putter head 1, as shown in FIG. 9. The rod 17 is fitted in aT-shape, as seen from above, at the right angles to the rear face. Ifthis rod 17 is aligned straight with the hole 4, the head 1 is alwaysperpendicular to the line 3, and the ball 2 is positioned on the lineconnecting the target and the guide rod 17. When the ball is putted atthis position, a right putting stroke can be expected.

[0020] Official gazette of Japanese patent application laid open No.1994-205855 proposed a putter equipped with a semi-circular extension18, which is disposed horizontally on the rear side of the face F of theputter head. An observation slit 19 is formed in this extension 18 at aposition corresponding to the sweet spot of the putter head 1 in thedirection perpendicular to the face F.

[0021] In conventional putters, a positioning mark (like the spot mark8) of a spot or a line is placed on top of the putter head. When thismark is used as a fixed point, it is possible to make a judgment on thedirection in which to stroke the putter head or the position of thesweet spot.

[0022] In using such a conventional putter, the player sets the putterhead in the rear of the ball, using the positioning mark as the fixedpoint, and keeps eyes over the ball while putting the ball with thisputter.

[0023] However, when a positioning mark is put on the putter head,players tend to move their eyes involuntarily with the movement of theputter taken straight back when they should keep their eyes steadilyover the ball. As a result, they cannot keep their head and shouldersstill.

[0024] As described above, it is important for the player to complete aputting stroke smoothly from beginning to end while consistently keepingeyes over the ball and keeping shoulders still. The conventional putterstend to cause wrong shots to occur because it is difficult for theplayer to keep eyes and shoulders still. However hard practice playersrepeat using such a conventional putter, they would never have a goodcommand of accurate putting skill and cannot expect any progress in theplay.

[0025] In the case of the putters shown in FIG. 10a, the player in theputting practice sets up the putter head in the rear of the ball,visualize a target line along which the ball is putted, align theobservation slit with this imaginary line, and put a mark on the area ofcarpet in the observation slit. Under this condition, the player makes aputt while keeping eyes on the mark, and takes the putter through theball in such a way that the observation slit will pass over the mark.

[0026] In this case, the mark is not drawn on the putter head, but isplaced under the head. Therefore, players are no longer lured to movetheir eyes and shoulders involuntarily with the movement of the puttertaken straight back. Thus, allegedly, a correct putting is achieved, andthe ball can be directed toward the hole along the target line.

[0027] This patent application asserted that through repeated puttingpractice with this putter, the players would quickly acquire an idealswing form of putting and therefore that they could have an expectationfor early and steady learning of the putting skill.

[0028] The observation slit in FIG. 10a is a cut in the extension. Butas shown in FIG. 10b, the slit can be a hole 19 punched in the extension18 in the direction perpendicular to the putter head. As shown in FIG.10c, the extension 18 is not limited to the semi-circular shape, but canbe rectangular, with the observation slit being cut through theextension so as to divide the extension nearly in two.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The above proposals have the disadvantages described below.

[0030] In the putters shown in FIGS. 5-8, emphasis is placed muchstrictly on an attempt to putt the ball on the line of spot mark whilekeeping the putt face at the angle of 90° to the line. Because of thisintention, the gates (e.g., bottom face F1, guide plates 9 and 9′, andgateposts 15 and 15′), through which the ball is admitted and putted,were set at too narrow a width. Such a precision as these is notrequired in actual putting.

[0031] The putter of FIG. 5 is used only for training, and its shape isdifferent from the shape of an ordinary putter shown in FIG. 4.Therefore, players have to recheck on their sense of balance for thehead each time when they make a put in a game. For this reason, hardpractice is unlikely to produce satisfactory results.

[0032] The tools shown in FIGS. 6-8 are the attachments to the puttersthat are used in actual games. Despite the lightweight of these tools,some changes in the balance cannot be denied, and require players tomake adjustments.

[0033] In the end, there has been no training putter or tool thatenables the “feel” of the putt acquired in the training to be applied toactual games without making any adjustment. (It has justly been claimedthat these putters or tools should be used for training.) In addition,it is recommended that the setting of an imaginary target line should bebased on the spot mark on the putter, regardless of whether the putteris for use in game or in training. Since the spot mark is only a shortline drawn across the width of the top surface of the head, the targetline, obtained merely by extending this short line, is quite unreliable.In fact, many players have experienced that these putters and tools havefallen short of their expectations.

[0034] In common practice, the players try to putt the ball into thehole in the green as they draw an imaginary extension line to the hole4, utilizing the spot mark drawn at the sweet spot 1 b on top of theputter head, as shown in FIG. 4. Since players have to aim at the holeahead of this thin line, they feel it difficult to make an accurateputting stroke. Any accurate pendulum stroke is impossible under thecondition that only this spot mark is given for the positioning. In manycases, there occur such mistakes as pushed putts and pulled putts. Withthese putters, the players often tend to make a putt in a looking upposture, thus failing to keep the ball moving straight forward.

[0035] The above-described incomplete ball-guiding function is alsopointed out for the putters shown in FIG. 10.

[0036] The putters of FIGS. 9 and 10 have no perfect ball-guidingfunction. Even if the guiding function works, the situation remainsunchanged, in which the ball is guided along a thin line, and noprecision is expected for the putting.

[0037] If a putter were to be given a sufficient ability to guide theball while changes in weight balance is minimized, then a putter with anadditional tool would have to be designed in a much larger size thanthose proposed in the past, in order for a straight line portion to besecured.

[0038] This invention has been made to solve the above-describedproblems. The object of this invention is to provide a golf putter thatmakes any training putter unnecessary and minimizes the addition of anyball-guiding projection or ridge and the changes in putter balancewithin a rational range, so that the player can set up a right addressposition for the putting and make a true pendulum putting stroke withoutcausing any looking up, pushed putt or pulled putt to occur.

[0039] The above object can be achieved by the putter of this invention,which is provided with a projected end portion sticking out for acertain length in the forward direction at right angles from each end ofthe putt face.

[0040] The projected end portions are disposed at both ends of, and atright angles to, the putt face. These portions function as a guide forthe player to become aware of the ball line just as the spot markfunctions in the similar manner. But unlike the spot mark that can beonly drawn across the width of the putter head, these projected portionsstick out for a distance longer than the head thickness. Their length issurprisingly enough to make the player recognize the imaginary parallellines drawn on both sides of the putter at a sufficient allowance.

[0041] In the past, the players could not help but aiming at the holeonly along a thin line. With this putter, they can aim at the hole notalong a thin line but within a broad straight guiding zone. Because ofthe guiding action of this broad zone, players can make a precisependulum stroke while avoiding the looking up, pushed putts or hookedputts. The reason why the pendulum strokes become easy is that, as theprojected guiding portions are located at both ends of the putt face,the players have no other way but to take the putter straight back, andthe follow-through comes as the natural reaction. As a result, they canmake precise pendulum strokes.

[0042] The projected end portions of this putter have a one-piececonstruction. Since these end portions serve as the ball line guides,players can address the ball precisely to aim it at the hole.

[0043] As the most remarkable feature of the line guiding action offeredby the projected end portions, the putter of this invention has quite adifferent way to take aim at the hole. When these ball line guides areset at right angles to the hole, it is possible for players to utilizethe three lines including the central line connecting between the spotmark and the hole. These three lines are not mere lines but they form aball-guiding zone. If the ball is putted so as to remain in this zone,it is highly probable that the ball rolls into the hole.

[0044] Due to the action of these ball line guides, the players canaddress the ball at a posture sideways to the hole wherever in the greenthey are.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045]FIG. 1 is a plan view of the golf putter of this invention.

[0046]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the putt face of the putter ofthis invention.

[0047]FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the putter of this invention.

[0048]FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the way to putt the ballwith the putter of this invention.

[0049]FIGS. 5a and 5 b are explanatory diagrams showing the way to puttthe ball with a prior-art putter.

[0050]FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional trainingputter.

[0051]FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another conventional trainingputter.

[0052]FIGS. 8a and 8 b are explanatory diagrams for explaining thedirections in which the ball goes when it has been putted at wrongplaces of the putter shown in FIG. 7.

[0053]FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional putter providedwith a guiding rod to help direct the ball at the hole.

[0054]FIGS. 10a-10 c show the conventional putters having ball-guidingextensions in varied shapes.

A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0055] This invention is further described by referring to FIGS. 1-3.

[0056] The golf putter 20 of this invention comprises projected endportions 21 and 21′, which are provided at both ends of the putter head1 a in a one-piece construction and stick out forward for a certaindistance at right angles to the putt face F.

[0057] The putter head 20 of this invention can be manufactured with allthe putter head materials now in commercially available.

[0058] The projected end portions 21 and 21′ are the extensions to thehead 1 a. Naturally, they have a length extended more than the headthickness. In the plan view, the bottom of the putter has a staple-likeshape, which makes it possible for the player to keep the putterstanding upright without falling. Thus, at the address position, theputter placed in the rear of the ball automatically determines thevertical position of the shaft S. The width of each projected endportion, as seen from the front, can be simply enough to have abreakage-resisting strength. Therefore, not so large a width isrequired. The change in the balance between front and back is onlyslight, and there is no change in the lateral balance between the rightand left of the putter.

[0059] There is little probability that the ball is putted with theseend portions of the putter. Unlike prior training putters, the putter ofthis invention is not intended to improve the putting skill by puttingthe ball with the added portions of the putter. In this respect, theputter of this invention is basically different in its use from theputters of FIGS. 5-8.

[0060] The looking up can be prevented by the function of the ball lineguides, which the projected end portions perform successfully asdescribed above. The players can no longer take a looking up posturewhen they make a putt while avoiding the ball to come in contact with aball line guide. The players also have little trouble avoiding pushedputts and pulled putts, and they can make ideal pendulum strokes thathave never been experienced before, when they make putting strokes alongthese ball line guides.

[0061] The function of the ball line guides is as outlined in FIG. 3.

[0062] When the player takes an address position with the putter head 1set at right angles to the hole 4, an imaginary zone 23 is formed by theline extended from the spot mark 8 and the ball guiding lines 22 and22′, which extend from the projected end portions 21 and 21′. At theaddress position, the player is conscious of this broad zone extendingto the hole 4, and with this image in mind, the player can make anaccurate putting stroke.

[0063] The golf putter of this invention comprising the above-describedconfiguration has the following effects:

[0064] (1) There is no large change in the structure and balance, thusgiving no sense of incongruity to players.

[0065] (2) The bottom of the putter is stabilized by the staple-likestructure, giving the players a sense of stability when they address theball.

[0066] (3) The ball is easier to putt than when putted with otherputters because the ball seems to be embraced in the putt face.

[0067] (4) The ball guiding function makes it possible for the player toseize the ball right at its center.

[0068] (5) The zonal guide keeps the player so calm and confident that apendulum stroke is easy to make.

[0069] (6) The image of the zone is so strong that the players can nolonger take a looking up posture.

[0070] (7) The putter of this invention has quite a different purpose ofconstruction so that the ball has little chance of coming in contactwith the projected end portions.

[0071] (8) The zonal guiding function affords the players to set up aneasy address position toward the hole.

[0072] (9) The putter of this invention makes any training putterunnecessary.

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf putter characterized in that putter headis provided with projected end portions at both ends of said putter headin a one-piece construction and that said end portions are designed tostick out for a certain distance in the forward direction at rightangles to the putter face.